If you are preparing your home for sale you are likely discovering how quickly the costs can add up to replace things liked outdated brass doorpulls, lamps and furniture.
A reader shared with me that she had a budget in mind to use for staging her home for sale and took it as a challenge to keep her costs as low as possible. Here are three projects she said I could share that look great but cost very ...
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For the first time in a century US households are actually getting larger rather than smaller. More adult children are now living with their parents than at any time since the 1950's... and the number of elderly parents living with their children has grown by more than 60% in the last seven years.
The multi-generational home may well be the next big thing in housing.
Whether permanent or temporary, ...
Our son started talking about Steel Toe Brewing before it even opened last August... he could hardly wait to have this craft microbrewery right in his own hometown of St. Louis Park! He was already a big fan of The Four Firkins, Minnesota's first specialty beer store, also in St. Louis Park not far from his home... and had been happily creating some of his own brews but even more significantly seeking ...
The months supply of inventory in December showed a seller's market for the first time since 2004... and January is a repeat with a 4.6 month supply. Pending sales, which predict future sales, are the highest they have been in January since 2005 according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, but very close to 2007... and even bumped up rather than down, from a higher holiday slump than ...
The number of new listings entering the market last year was the lowest it has been since the turn of the century... down from a peak of 108,033 in 2006 to only 68,875 in 2011.
That low number of sellers entering the marketplace coupled with buyers snatching them up resulted in in a supply of homes for sale that dropped off my chart... only 16,191 active listings at the end of 2011.
If you look ...
As Twin Cities rents go up in in response to high demand and the lowest vacancy rates in about 10 years some renters are starting to wonder if it finally makes more sense to buy.
While there are many factors involved in such a decision, if it boils down to whether buying makes financial sense given current market conditions a good gauge is the price-to-rent ratio.
The price-to-rent ratio is the cost ...
Only two blocks long, the Milwaukee Avenue Historic District is Seward Neighborhood's shining star. This group of small homes built between 1884 and 1890 was the first planned workers' community in Minneapolis, attracting immigrants working in the nearby railroad yards and other industries along Hiawatha Avenue. Built in similar style on quarter-sized lots with no front yards, these homes have more ...
Wondering where to go to look at holiday lights this year?
Holiday Lights in the Park at Lake Phalen in St. Paul is a fun drive-through show of holiday light sculptures and animated displays that is also a great fundraiser, with all net proceeds donated to Second Harvest Heartland, Union Gospel Mission, The Saint Paul Parks Conservancy and UnderConstruction... charities focused on fundamental community ...
The Coffee Shop Northeast is one of those intimate coffee shops that immediately makes you feel at home... like you are already part of the neighborhood. I met new clients there on Thursday night just as I had met another client there a few weeks ago. I was again struck by the 'Cheers' feel of this neighborhood hub... very friendly and welcoming, a place where you go not just for coffee and food but ...
With so much talk about how this is such a wonderful time to buy a home it can be easy to get caught up into thinking YOU should be buying... whether you are ready or not. Regardless of the housing market and financing conditions, it's only a good time to buy if it's the right time for you.
Wondering if you are ready? Here are some signs you are...
You have been looking at homes for sale ...